Is it obligatory for a person to perform wudu' exactly as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did, based on the fact that his action clarifies and explains the noble verse?

The questioner : The Shaykh says that Professor Ahmad states that the manner of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) wudu' is such that a Muslim should perform wudu' exactly as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. Therefore, if someone omits something, his wudu' is not valid, because one cannot rely on the obligatory acts alone, as some say regarding the verse. He said: "Because the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) action clarifies the verse?"

The Shaykh : No, you are mistaken, he is.

The questioner : By Allah, I would prefer to be mistaken.

The Shaykh : Definitely, repeat what you are saying!

The questioner : I mean, he says: We look at the manner of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) wudu' as it was transmitted to us. A Muslim should perform wudu' exactly in this manner. So, if someone omits, for example, the sniffing of water, his wudu' is not valid. If he did not sniff water, his wudu' is not valid, even if his reliance is on the verse, because the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) action clarifies and explains the verse?!

The Shaykh : Look, now the statement differs from the first one.

The questioner : Yes, of course.

The Shaykh : I would have objected to the first statement if someone performed wudu' once. What would Shaykh Ahmad say? He would say: It is permissible.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : But now you have brought a clarification. This clarification removed the issue. That is, what you said last can be explained in a scholarly manner: that what the Messenger (peace be upon him) did is an explanation of a Qur'anic text, so its ruling is the ruling of the Qur'anic text. That is: How did he wash his face?! How did he wipe his head?! So, the manner in which he wiped his head is an explanation of the noble verse. For example, you know the disagreement among scholars regarding the obligatory part of wiping the head: is it the whole head, or part of it, or a few hairs as some Shafi'is say? So, if it is known or established for someone that the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not wipe less than his entire head, he tells you: The Messenger's consistency in wiping his entire head is an explanation of the Qur'an, so his wudu' is not valid except in this way. This is an example of what you transmitted from Shaykh Ahmad. But if it is established that the Messenger wiped the whole head once, and wiped part of it another time, then this rule is not applied. What troubled you about Shaykh Ahmad's statement?

The questioner : I just want to be reassured, my Shaykh. I mean, your opinion. May Allah reward you with good.